Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Extravagant Grace

Extravagant Grace by Barbara Duguid is one of the best books I have read in a long time. She addresses the question of why do mature Christians still sin so much? and how does grace work in regards to my sanctification? She uses John Newton's writings as her basis. Read this quote below and prepare to be blown away by God's amazing grace:

“God could have saved us and made us instantly perfect. Instead, he chose to save us and leave indwelling sin in our hearts and bodies to wage war against the new and blossoming desires to please God that accompany salvation. This is a raging battle that we often lose, and that often leaves us feeling defeated and joyless in our walk with God. Yet Newton also points out that since we know God does all things for his own glory and the good of his people, his decision to leave Christians with many struggles with sin must also somehow serve to glorify him and benefit his people. This is shocking news, isn’t it?”

“Think of what this means. God thinks that you will actually come to know and love him better as a desperate and weak sinner in continual need of grace than you would as a triumphant Christian warrior who wins each and every battle against sin. This makes sense out of our experience as Christians. If the job of the Holy Spirit is to make you more humble and dependent on Christ, more grateful for his sacrifice, and more adoring of him as a wonderful Savior, then he might be doing a very, very good job even though you still sin every day.” (p. 30-31)